Page 111 of A Baron of Bonds
But first, I needed to head to the tallest tower because if I knew Philius at all, I knew he was headed down that endless staircase that very moment in search of me.
“Turnaround,”I ordered, pointing back up the black stone steps where Philius was indeed hurrying down, now dressed in traditional channeler clothing.
“What the fuck is going on? Where exactly have you brought us to, Karus?” He stopped on the landing, folding his arms across his chest.
Ignoring his questions, I retorted, “Stop with the dramatics. Turn around and get back to your room. You are not a prince of Hyrithia here, Philius. You are a channeler and you must listen to your Baron.”
He leaned against the stairwell, his golden brown eyes challenging me just as they had as children. “And if I don’t? Do we need to leave? Isn’t the Blight the thing that almost killed you? What if you contract this illness and die, Karus?Youshould be inyourrooms.”
“I swear, Philius, if you do not get back to your room, I will force you there and seal your door.”
He scoffed, “Like you could.”
“She can.”
I jumped, surprised by Revich’s presence behind me in my attempt to get my brother to follow orders—something he’d never excelled in.
Philius’s arms fell to his sides and he glared behind me.
“Your sister is right. You need to be in your room. We won’t hide anything from you. As soon as we know more about this illness, we will inform you and everyone else here. I do not keep such secrets from the people under my care.”
“But you’ll riskher.” Philius pointed to me and took a step down, closer to where I stood.
“If I thought Karus was in danger of contracting this illness, she would not be here on these stairs speaking to you.”
It was my turn to glare. Like he had a choice.
“Revich thinks we cannot succumb to what Pompeii has due to where our magic comes from. Something”—I held up my hand to stop Philius from his next question—“you don’t need to know about right now, but something I will tell you later. Now please, go back to your room and let us handle this. We’re wasting time.”
Revich didn’t respond to my order, but waited with me to see what the Prince of Hyrithia would do.
He scraped his teeth together and gave short nod, turning and heading back up the stairs. He called over his shoulder, “I want Karus to bring me my food. If I don’t hear from her specifically, I’ll find a way to get to her andleave.”
I muttered an assembly of curses under my breath.
“That princely charm is endearing,” Revich remarked, watching him leave.
“It always worked well on the Queen.”
He slid his fingers through mine, turning us around and back down the enormous staircase. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. But worried. Let’s get to Heimlen’s study.”
“We’re eating first in our rooms.”
“Forget food, we need to start our search.”
“Oh, and you function so well on an empty stomach, don’t you?” His dark eyes glinted with a playful smile.
“Fine,” I relented, my stomach giving a well-timed grumble.
After we’d gone through allthe cinnamon buns and egg pastries filled with salty bacon and cheese, we stood before the solid black door with the emerald glass knob.
The alcove on the black stone staircase was easily missed, dark and eerie, even more so now that I knew exactly the kind of man who had occupied it.
I felt Rev’s apprehension along with mine before he turned to me. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” I nodded, squeezing his hand.
